Capcom Classics Collection Remixed

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Portable beat 'em ups, quizzes, and shooters galore.

By Jeremy Dunham

Old-school compilation packs are perfect for handheld gaming. Not only are they easy to pick up and play, ideal for nostalgia, and a great source of variety, but they're also inexpensive lessons in history that show us what paved the way for the highly-complex games we play today. When done right, these sets can be surprising sources of entertainment (the GBA versions of the Pac-Man Collection, Activision Anthology, and Namco Museum have certainly proven that). But the real question for we, the PSP owners, is, "When are we going to get that kind of high-level fun for our mobile PlayStation?"

Thus far, we've only seen two attempts: Midway's Arcade Treasures (which paled in comparison to its previous counterparts) and the Namco Museum Battle Collection (which was actually rather good). Luckily, Japanese giant Capcom has also thrown its hat into the fray with Capcom Classics Collection Remixed, a handheld version of one of the better console compilation packs of 2005. This move to the portable realm is a pretty decent one too... even if its game selection isn't as strong as its console counterpart's.

In Magic Sword, Drokkmar is serious toast.

Now to be fair, the PSP version of Capcom Classics Collection really shouldn't be classified as a "port." With the exception of only five games in the set (Final Fight, Section Z, Bionic Commando, Legendary Wings, and Forgotten Worlds), the remaining 15 titles found in Remixed weren't available for the PS2 or Xbox editions at all. In fact, some of the PSP inclusions are games that were sorely missed from the set-top version -- 1941, Magic Sword, Captain Commando, Black Tiger, Strider, and Side Arms are all must-have additions for any self-respecting arcade fan of the 1980s. It's good to see them pop up again here so that newer audiences can enjoy them.

I'm also happy to report that the emulation of every last piece of software in Capcom Classics Remixed has been handled very, very well. Once again translated by the team at Digital Eclipse (the same crew that did the console edition last year), the game's move from ROM to PSP is pretty seamless. There's almost no slowdown, audio problems, or video hitches to speak of whatsoever, and that's a big victory for a retro-pack fan like me who has seen countless compilations that botch my yesteryear favorites.

See? Captain Commando had a game even before Marvel vs. Capcom 2!

Another nice plus for Capcom fans is that Classics Remixed also benefits from several presentational advantages. Loading between games and menus only takes about 12-15 seconds, with no loading to worry about again until you switch to another title. Additionally there are plenty of bonus goodies available for every game -- the ability to learn about the history of each individual title, several pieces of unlockable art, and hidden gameplay tips among them. Users can even switch between various viewing modes with differing results in every title.

Some games, for instance, will offer an original viewing option or a friendlier "Stretch" mode, while shooters allow you to tilt the screen 90-degrees to take up the entire PSP viewing area. Some titles even have "Enhanced" viewing options that squeeze more information onto the screen at one time, and users can customize their controls to use only the analog stick and directional pad during vertical viewing mode if they like (expect some discomfort if you have big hands, though).